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French Pyrénées - 2026
Grand Tourmalet
Skiing - Spring 2026
7th - 14th March
Situated along the Vallée de Garvarnie, either side of the Col de Tourmalet on the D918, the Grand Tourmalet ski area is the largest in the French Pyrénées.
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On one side of the Col is the typical Pyrénéean village of Barèges, whilst on the other, is the 1970s purpose-built resort of La Mongie with the bowl between the two forming the major part of the pistes.
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But the highlight of the region is the mighty Pic du Midi, which at 2877m, is by far the highest peak in the area and one of the highest in the Pyrénées. At the top, is the observatory and science station, together with a top-class hotel and restaurant. It is accessible by cable-car from La Mongie with challenging off-piste skiing for the more able and adventurous all the way down to the base station below.
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The Grand Tourmalet area is reputedly best suited to intermediate skiers but also welcomes beginners with lots of gentle slopes around the La Mongie base station to get started, with slightly more challenging 'blues' for later in a debutant's first week of skiing :-)
According to The British Ski Club, the Grand Tourmalet has a good, historical snow record well into March. With the base station at La Mongie at 1800m, it is possible that even the village will be snow-bound for the planned trip during the second week of March.
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However, climate change is having a major impact on 'alpine' skiing in Europe and as last year's trip to Saint-Lary demonstrated, an early, warm Spring will significantly reduce snow depth at lower levels. This may be especially noticeable here in the Pyrénées which although has many high peaks at well over 3000m, is close to the influence of Atlantic airstreams bringing in milder weather.
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But last year's trip to Saint-Lary showed that pistes above 2000m still retained delightful, crisp surface conditions will into the afternoon, especially on north-facing slopes. The majority of Grand Tourmalet's easy and intermediate slopes appear to be on the north-facing side of the Garvarnie Valley with the highest blue run commencing just under the 2700m, Pic des Quatre Termes​ - looks awesome!
The ski resort has a modern web of ski lifts, 17 green, 23 blue, 21 red, and 6 black pistes; with a total of more than 100 km located between 1250 and 2500 metres in altitude. The majority of the higher runs seem to be in the La Mongie sector so it makes sense to have this as the base for the 2026 trip.
Across the Col de Tourmalet, slopes in the Barèges sector look good for morning skiing, possibly even the tree-lined forest runs down to Barèges itself. But with the village at just 1250m, it is likely that these runs will either disappear completely, or at least become unskiable slush quite early in the day.
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However, one day at least should be set aside for a bit of a rest perhaps, but also for a cable-car ride up to the Pic du Midi observatory not least to experience the spectacular mountain landscape on view from the 'ponton dans le ciel' and perhaps also for a posh lunch in the observatory's restaurant.
Accommodation in La Mongie
Grand Tourmalet is a very 'French' resort, and accommodation in the La Mongie sector seems to be mostly 1970s+ purpose-built apartment blocks, much like many alpine resorts.
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There are plenty to choose from both listed on AirBnB and VRBO in the €5-600 price range for the second week of March when costs are substantially lower than preceeding weeks as those co-incide with Europe's half-term breaks. This seems to be enough to pay for a typical one-bedroomed + 'cabine' apartment which could, in theory at least, sleep 4 albeit quite cosily! This accommodation also includes of course, a decent kitchen, living area and balcony overlooking the skiing terrain and the mountains. The trick is to find somewhere that is listed as 'ski-in / ski-out' which at the same time is close to the lifts and not too far away from shops and restaurants.
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At the time of writing (Nov 25) nothing as yet, has been booked, but this one looks promising., as does this one.
La Mongie Base Station
Travelling to Grand Tourmalet
Grand Tourmalet is located some 180km south-west of Toulouse, the closest large city, and less than 50km south of Tarbes.
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A direct rail link from Paris Gare Montparnasse to Tarbes would then require a relatively short, 45-minute bus ride on the Lio Occitane route #960 up the valley to La Mongie. Both rail and bus services run throughout the day. It would be possible to travel by train all the way from London St.Pancras International to Tarbes, via Paris and Toulouse, and with very careful planning, may be achievable in a day. Or otherwise, a comfortable 'train de nuits' departs Paris-Austerlitz on Friday evenings travelling through the night all the way to Tarbes.
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The major airport at Toulouse-Blagnac has frequent services from the UK, with the smaller airport at Tarbes being served by some UK-based budget airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet. Onward travel from Tarbes is also a short train ride, again to Lannemazen, followed by the bus to Saint-Lary.
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But more than likely, the Audi S1 will be making a similar trip to last year's from the Channel port of Ouistreham following a Brittany Ferries crossing from Portsmouth. At about 900km, realistically this needs an overnight stop part-way, as usual, and this time, Tours, or perhaps even as far as Poitiers in Charente, may be a good choice. All to be decided in due course.
